Category Archives: Cocktails

Art of the Cocktail is coming to Calgary

Posted on March 28, 2014 | Leave a comment

Two years ago I attended Art of the Cocktail in Victoria. The annual cocktail festival celebrates cocktail culture in B.C.’s capital while educating mixed drink enthusiasts about cocktail trends, spirits and the art of combining ingredients in a shaker. In between spirited sips I learned all about gin and I visited local distillers while enjoying Victoria in early October.

Get ready for drinks shaken and stirred as the Art of the Cocktail (AOTC) comes to Calgary April 5-7. Image courtesy AOTC.

Get ready for drinks shaken and stirred as the Art of the Cocktail (AOTC) comes to Calgary April 5-7. Image courtesy AOTC.

Fast forward a couple years and festival organizers have deemed Calgary cocktail-forward enough to warrant hosting Art of the Cocktail here. Art of the Cocktail: Calgary takes place April 5-7 and promises to entertain, educate and inebriate cocktailians in Cowtown at well known lounges including the Bourbon Room, Milk Tiger, Model Milk and Raw Bar at Hotel Arts. I’ll be reporting on the festival and emerging cocktail trends for the Calgary Herald, as well as judging the Sidecar by Merlet cocktail competition alongside Tony Conigliaro and Luc Merlet on April 7.

The festival isn't all seminars. Be sure to register for boozy events like the Three Martini Lunch at Yellow Door Bistro.

The festival isn’t all seminars. Be sure to register for boozy events like the Three Martini Lunch at Yellow Door Bistro. Image courtesy AOTC.

Check out these events and seminars:

  • The Grand Tasting on April 5 has the most mass appeal as guests are able to try old and new cocktails that feature familiar and unique spirits and liqueurs, that are paired with appetizers from local chefs.
  • There’s a Mad Men-style Three Martini Lunch at Yellow Door Bistro that pairs a trio of gin martinis with three courses between noon and 1:30 p.m. on April 5 (don’t plan to drive afterwards).
  • Not-to-miss seminars include The Next Trend (spoiler alert… vermouth) and, for budding home bartenders, Developing Original Drinks with Tony Conigliaro, both on April 6. If you’re ready to mix drinks with liquid nitrogen then Joshua Groom will show you how during Cocktail FX, which explores liquid molecular gastronomy, on April 7.

Art of the Cocktail Calgary is our city’s chance to showcase its emerging cocktail culture. Sounds like fun, right? Tickets are available here. See you there!

 

 

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Drink of the Week: Boozy Juice Box

Posted on March 21, 2014 | Leave a comment

“Have boozy juice box, will travel.” That’s my motto this week as spring break takes me to sunny Mexico. This inventive drink — a perfect hot-weather, tote-along pool companion — comes to us courtesy of the Hotel Arts Group, where I sampled it during Calgary’s Big Taste event at a cocktail dinner hosted by Raw Bar.

This adults-only take on a refreshing juice box features white wine, roasted pineapple and bitters. Chugalug!

This adults-only take on a refreshing juice box features white wine, roasted pineapple and bitters. Chugalug!

Boozy Juice Box is basically a wine cooler made with roasted pineapple- and bitters-infused white wine. The pineapple complements the Pinot Grigio, adding a smoky sweetness, and the bitters give the drink a spicy complexity. At first sip I thought there was more to it than the recipe revealed. The good news is since it’s so simple, it would be a snap to make a large batch for a summer garden party… figuring out the delivery method (a bunch of juice boxes and straws) would be the hard part!

Boozy Juice Box

  • 2 slices grilled pineapple
  • 6 oz Noble Ridge Pinot Grigio
  • 4 dashes Bittermans Boston Bitters
  • Honey to taste

Combine ingredients and marinate overnight in the fridge. Strain into a plastic pouch, add a straw and tote along to the beach or enjoy poolside.

— Recipe courtesy Raw Bar at Hotel Arts

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Drink of the Week: Cherry Whiskey Sour

Posted on March 14, 2014 | 1 comment

“We make the best cocktails in Calgary,” declared the man tending bar at The Lake House, formerly The Ranche, the Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts (CRMR) restaurant that has moved to Lake Bonavista in Calgary.

Well then. With confidence like that, I’d be silly not to sample one. He tried to sell me on a sweet lychee martini, but after explaining that I prefer strong, savoury or sour drinks he suggested the cherry whiskey sour. Sign me up!

A lovely cherry whiskey sour from The Lake House. Nice view of Lake Bonavista!

A lovely cherry whiskey sour from The Lake House. Nice view of Lake Bonavista!

I love this drink! It’s simultaneously tart and sweet, with just enough strength that you can taste the bourbon, but not so much that it turns you off (bourbon is so, well, bourbon-y, after all). There’s also a nice cherry flavour from the McGuinness cherry whiskey that rounds out the sweet and balances the lemon juice. You could play around with the drink’s ratios if it suits (see recipe), but I wouldn’t. This drink is awesome as is, and I love that the bartenders don’t even measure out the ingredients — they eyeballed everything except the booze.

The Lake House’s new, renovated space is a huge departure from the heritage home at The Ranche in Fish Creek Provincial Park. The restaurant tries hard to recreate the rustic ambiance of the former venue, with elk antler chandeliers and a large stone and cement fireplace. There’s also a stellar view over Lake Bonavista. I like the long bar too — it’s a lovely spot for a cocktail.

Cherry Whiskey Sour

  • 1 egg white
  • 1-1/2 oz Knob Creek bourbon
  • 1/2 oz McGuinness cherry whiskey
  • 3/4 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/2 oz brown sugar simple syrup (combine 1 part brown sugar with 1 part water, heat until sugar dissolves, cool and refrigerate)

Vigorously dry shake ingredients in a Boston shaker. Add ice and shake again. Strain into a rocks glass over one large ice cube.  Orange flambé zest garnish (heat an orange peel section with a lighter, squeeze essential oils into drink, drop in peel).

— Recipe courtesy Chris Hanson and Mike Squire

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